Washington briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 25, 2001

Ashcroft accused of anti-gay bias

WASHINGTON -- A health care expert who applied for a top cabinet post in Missouri's government contends that then-Gov. John D. Ashcroft questioned him about his sexual orientation during a job interview, posing the query in a way that indicated he would not be hired if he was gay.

Such a question, which Attorney General-designate Ashcroft said he "cannot imagine" asking, would not violate Missouri law, which does not prohibit discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation.

But if it was asked, it would contradict testimony Ashcroft offered to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week when he told senators: "Sexual orientation has never been something that I've used in hiring in any of the jobs, in any of the offices, I've held. It will not be a consideration in hiring at the Department of Justice."

Paul Offner, a Democrat and health care policy expert who applied in 1985 to be head of Missouri's Department of Social Services, said he was "stunned" by the query, which he said came with no introduction at the start of his interview.

Offner did not get the job. He went on to serve as senior health care adviser to the Senate Finance Committee and later joined the faculty at Georgetown University.

Meanwhile, a vote on Ashcroft's confirmation was postponed Wednesday for a week at the request of Democrats, who said they have not received Ashcroft's answers to more than 360 written questions as well as other material they have requested.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Wednesday said she would vote against Ashcroft's confirmation, becoming the seventh Democrat to do so. Among her reservations about Ashcroft, she said, is the way he deals with gay people.

The Senate approved two more of Bush's Cabinet nominees Wednesday, confirming Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson as health and human services secretary and Norman Mineta as transportation secretary. The vote was 100-0 for each.

Gale Norton, overcoming a concerted campaign against her for interior secretary, won a vote of overwhelming support Wednesday from a crucial Senate committee and appeared certain to be confirmed next week.

Two other nominees -- Elaine Chao as labor secretary and Christie Whitman as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency -- were scheduled for a Senate vote on Tuesday.

Also . . .

FINANCE REFORM: President Bush, faced with mounting support for campaign finance overhaul legislation on Capitol Hill, held an inconclusive White House meeting with Sen. John S. McCain on Wednesday on the issue that once defined their Republican primary fight.

In their 45-minute meeting, the two men did not seem to break any new ground, and afterward McCain indicated he will move forward with his Senate campaign finance bill whether Bush embraces it or not.

Bush has refused to rule out vetoing the bill if it passes. McCain did not say whether the topic came up Tuesday night.

NO E-MAIL FOR BUSH: Never much of a cyber-cowboy, President Bush has now exited the information superhighway altogether to avoid having his e-mail become public.

Before he came to Washington, Bush said he wasn't much of an Internet surfer but did like to e-mail family members, especially his mother and brother Jeb, Florida's governor.

Bush told reporters over the weekend that he had looked forward to establishing a regular e-mail conversation with his ex-president father about his new job.

Upon reflection, though, the younger Bush said he decided it would be better to have their chats via telephone. Otherwise, he said, their personal communications could be publicly aired.

GORE TAKES JOB: Al Gore has signed up for his first job since handing over the keys to the vice president's office: He will teach a graduate-level journalism class at Columbia University.

Gore will teach "Covering National Affairs in the Information Age," which will look at politics from the perspective of politicians and journalists, the university said in a statement Wednesday.

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